Thursday's matchup between the Pirates and Cardinals is set to get started at 2:15 PM ET from Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The forecast for today's game calls for clear skies and temperatures in the low 80s. Mitch Keller will start for the Pirates, while the Cardinals are sending Lance Lynn to the mound.
The money line odds have the Pirates at -109 compared to the Cardinals at -109. The over/under line is currently 8.5 runs, and the under is paying out at -113 compared to -108 for the over. In the NL Central, the Pirates are 5th with a record of 32-35, while the Cardinals are 2nd at 32-34.
Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Pirates at Cardinals
- Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis
- Date: Thursday, June 13th
- Betting Odds STL -109 | PIT -109 O/U 8.5
Pirates vs Cardinals Last Game Recap
St. Louis picked up a 4-2 win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. The Cardinals had a huge 4th inning, scoring all four of their runs. As for the Pirates, they scored their only two runs in the 5th. Heading into the game, the Cardinals were favored at -171 on the money line.
Sonny Gray pitched well for the Cardinals in this one, going seven innings and giving up just one run. He finished the game with nine strikeouts but issued one walk. Gray picked up a win in the game, while Ryan Helsley got the save. Bailey Falter had a rough outing for the Pirates, taking the loss.
Nolan Arenado and Ivan Herrera each had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals' offense. Brendan Donovan also had a two-hit game and drove in a run. As for the Pirates, Henry Davis hit the game's only home run and went 1/3.
Pirates Preview
Currently 32-35, the Pirates are looking to get back above .500 today and are just a half-game behind the Cardinals for 4th place in the NL Central. They trail the Brewers by 7.5 games in the division. Pittsburgh has a 8-9-4 series record this season and have won two straight series.
Against the run line, the Pirates have a 37-30 record and are 29-13 as underdogs. Their over/under record is 34-32, with a 13-9 mark when the total is 8.5 runs. This season, 58.2% of their games have had lower over/under lines than today's 8.5 runs, and their current under streak is at 2 games.
Mitch Keller has been pitching well for the Pirates, as he has won his last four starts. Most recently, he faced the Twins on June 7th and picked up the win, going six innings and giving up just two hits and no earned runs. Keller finished with eight strikeouts in the outing. For the season, he has made 13 starts, has a record of 8-3, and an ERA of 3.16. Keller's WHIP for the season is 1.24, and opponents are batting .248 off the right-hander this year.
Heading into today's game, the Pirates are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 22nd in the league. This is also where they are at in terms of home runs and slugging percentage. Overall, they are batting just .229, which is 19th in the league. However, the Pirates do have two hitters who are in the top 15 in home runs, with Oneil Cruz and Andrew McCutchen each having eight homers this season.
Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds have been swinging the bat well of late, with Cruz having two homers in his last seven games and Reynolds going 11/33 in his last eight games. Reynolds is also on a 10-game hitting streak. For the season, Reynolds is batting .263 with a team-high 35 RBIs.
Cardinals Preview
St. Louis has an even run line record of 33-33 this season, with a 17-14 record at home and 16-19 on the road. The Cardinals have covered the run line in three straight games at home and are 20-14 against the run line as underdogs. Their games have averaged 8.4 runs per game, resulting in an over/under record of 28-35.
The Cardinals are 2nd in the NL Central, seven games behind the Brewers. Their overall record is 32-34, and they are 6-8 against divisional opponents. St. Louis' series record is 10-10-1, and they are currently tied in their series vs. the Pirates.
Lance Lynn will be looking to bounce back from his last outing, where he gave up four earned runs in four innings of work. In that start vs. the Rockies, he gave up two homers. Lynn finished with a no-decision in the outing. Looking back further, he has made three straight starts without a win. Lynn's ERA for the season is 3.58, along with a record of 2-3. Opponents are batting .240 off the right-hander this year. So far, he has made three quality starts and is averaging 8.68 strikeouts per nine innings. At home, his ERA is 4.89 compared to 2.79 on the road.
Heading into today's game, the Cardinals are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 24th in the league. They have been slightly better at home, putting up 4.1 runs per contest. As a team, the Cardinals are batting .236, which is 15th in the league, and their team on-base percentage of .307 is also below average. One of the Cardinals' biggest issues has been their lack of power, as they are just 18th in the league in home runs and have a collective slugging percentage of .371.
Nolan Gorman has been the Cardinals' top power threat this season, as his 15 home runs are 6th best in the league. However, he is batting just .219 for the season and has struck out 60 times in 191 at-bats. Over his last 10 games, Gorman has gone 9/39 with 5 homers and 8 RBIs. Alec Burleson has also been a power threat for the Cardinals, as his nine homers are 2nd on the team and 12th in the league. He comes into the game batting .277.
Pirates vs. Cardinals Prediction: Cardinals ML -109
With the money line sitting at -109, we really like the Cardinals to pick up a win at home today. Our predicted final score is 5-4 in favor of the Cardinals, and with the payout being the same as the payout on the money line, we recommend sticking with a straight up Cardinals win.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Lance Lynn finishing with six strikeouts compared to Mitch Keller with six. However, Keller has a higher ceiling and is projected to finish with six as well. Offensively, the Cardinals lineup is projected to finish with eight hits, compared to the Pirates with eight.
